The United Nations, the OSCE Mission, the Council of Europe and the EU Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina are dismayed that the Republika Srpska National Assembly re-criminalized defamation, the three organisations said Thursday.
“Freedom of expression is a fundamental right and a fundamental European value. This move contravenes the international human rights commitments of Bosnia and Herzegovina and is inconsistent with its European path as it is not in line with the 14 key priorities of the European Commission’s Opinion, in particular, key priority 11 on an enabling environment for civil society, and key priority 12 on the freedom of expression,” they said.
the joint statement noted that criminal defamation laws risk being misused against journalists, human rights defenders and other civil society actors for performing their legitimate role to investigate and inform the public on issues of public interest, which is fundamental for the functioning of any democratic society. The amendments to the RS Criminal Code represent a regrettable and undeniable major step backwards in protecting fundamental rights and undermining the effective functioning of democracy in the Bosnian entity, the statement warned.
“We also recall the recommendations that were provided by United Nations, OSCE and Council of Europe bodies and human rights mechanisms which urged the Republika Srpska authorities not to recriminalize defamation and instead manage issues around defamation through improved media regulation and civil legislation. We also recall similar appeals made by civil society organizations, including journalists’ associations,” the UN, OSCE, CoE and the EU Office in BiH wrote.
They concluded by saying they will continue to provide our full support to any constructive and substantive discussion or process on how to further align legislation across Bosnia and Herzegovina with international human rights standards to which the country is legally bound.
“We will also pursue our active support to the important work of responsible and independent media actors and organizations in Republika Srpska and beyond,” the statement said.
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